Raith Rovers injury update as key midfielder returns to training

The positive news is that midfielder Regan Hendry has returned to training for the first time since injuring his knee at the end of October.

McGlynn explained that the 21-year-old had joined in non-contact training on Monday, was planning to do likewise on Tuesday, before stepping up to full training on Thursday.

However, Saturday’s match at Falkirk will come too soon.

“The view is that he probably needs another week of training to be available for selection,” McGlynn said.

“We’ve just got to be a little bit careful with Regan that we don’t risk him then find ourselves with him being out for a longer period of time.

“He’s exactly where he should be in his rehab, it’s just a matter of training away now and getting confidence in the knee in high-tempo small-sided games.”

There is also positive news surrounding Lewis Vaughan, who will no longer require a second operation having had successful surgery on his cruciate ligament last Thursday.

“We were originally told he would need two operations but we sought a second opinion and decided to go down another route,” McGlynn said.

“The second surgeon was very confident he could do it in one operation and quicker than other surgeon so it was a no-brainer for us to get it done.

“It was a success by all accounts and that’s him on the road to start coming back.

“It’s a massive boost that he didn’t need two operations because we were talking about January 2021 until his comeback.

“Now we’re looking at the end of August or September for Lewis, but he will need the full nine months.

“Having watched him came back from the cruciate he did at Brechin, it was very much a matter of holding him back because he was so far ahead of schedule.

“We think - and hope - it’s going to be the same but we need to hold him back and make sure he gets the whole nine months this time.”

Michael Miller, meanwhile, is nursing a knee injury with no timescale on his return.

“He’s hit the buffers a wee bit,” McGlynn said. “The concern is this is the knee he did his cruciate on.

“He was rehabilitating, but it’s now got to the stage where he has to go and strengthen the knee even more.

“He’s not confident in the knee as it is, so we just have to bite the bullet and give it the time it takes.”

Defender Steven Anderson is expected to miss the trip to Falkirk on Saturday.

McGlynn added: “Unless there’s a remarkable improvement I don’t think he’ll be available for the weekend, but we’re hoping he’ll be available for the next game.”

Dan Armstrong missed the Airdrie match with a thigh strain but was expected to train today (Thursday) in the hope of being available for Falkirk.